A former employee at two different local universities was sentenced to 46 weeks' jail on April 8 after pleading guilty to multiple offences including cheating and voyeurism.
Foo Siang Chi, 55, was a deputy director at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) office of facilities management (OFM) when the university terminated his employment in 2018.
In 2015, while working at the OFM, he duped his colleague into lending him more than $205,000 in total over at least six occasions by not disclosing that he would use the money for gambling.
Between April and August 2018, he also recorded at least four upskirt videos, two of which were captured within NUS.
In February 2019, he started working as a director of office campus infrastructure and facilities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
He went on to record more upskirt videos between March 2019 and March 2020, and two of them were taken at SUTD. Foo resigned from SUTD in January 2022.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Alexandria Shamini Joseph told the court that Foo, who had a gambling habit, started working as an associate director at the OFM in May 2013.
He did not disclose to NUS that he had an outstanding debt of around $600,000 when he applied for the position.
In early 2015, Foo befriended his colleague, 58, who was aware of the offender's financial situation.
On one instance, moneylenders showed up at Foo's office to harass him for repayment. Foo was not in the office, and the colleague told the moneylenders not to come to the office premises to look for the offender, the DPP said.
The older man later spoke to Foo, who revealed that he had taken loans from various moneylenders.
Feeling sorry for Foo, the victim, who was unaware about Foo's gambling habit, agreed to lend him some money to settle his outstanding debts.
Between April 28 and July 3, 2015, he handed Foo cheques for $85,500 in total.
The victim also took a personal loan of $120,000 from a bank and handed Foo the amount on or around July 6 that year.
Foo used the money to fund his gambling habit, despite knowing that his colleague would not have given him the loans if he knew the funds would be used for gambling.
Separately, Foo used his mobile phone to take at least 30 upskirt videos and photos of "women whose legs he found attractive" between April 2018 and March 2020, the prosecutor said.
"(These videos and photos were taken) in public places such as on public transport, in malls and on the premises of NUS and SUTD."
Foo was charged in court in November 2023.
On April 8, defence lawyers Shashi Nathan, Jeremy Pereira and U. Sudharshanraj Naidu from Withers KhattarWong pleaded for their client to be given up to nine months' jail.
They said that Foo - who has been living separately from his wife and his daughter, 18, since 2015 - is extremely remorseful.
He has also made a full restitution to his former colleague.
Foo's bail was set at $25,000 on April 8 and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on April 15.
For cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.
An offender convicted of voyeurism can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.
Foo cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.
